Claims of child abuse cover-up heighten tensions in Westminster

An independent, transparent and comprehensive inquiry into the Home Office’s handling of historic child abuse allegations is imminent, said Home Secretary Theresa May.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, May addressed two
core concerns: the Home Office’s failure to adequately deal with
a dossier alleging widespread child sex abuse in the 1980s, and
the broader issue of whether state bodies breached their duty of
care towards vulnerable children.

With respect to the Home Office’s handling of sensitive child
abuse files, May stated a government appointed investigator found
there was “no single Dickens dossier” and that files
were not deleted or destroyed intentionally.
She claimed further the investigator was satisfied all credible
evidence relating to the allegations had been passed on to the
police.

The Home Secretary pledged on Monday the Government will conduct
a full-scale inquiry, consisting of an independent “panel of
experts” to decipher whether state bodies and “other
non-state institutions” fulfilled their “duty of care to
protect children from sexual abuse”.

“It will, like the inquiries into Hillsborough and the murder
of Daniel Morgan, be a non-statutory panel inquiry. This means
that it can begin its work sooner," she said.

NSPCC chief executive, Peter Wanless, will lead the planned
inquiry, which is set to review the investigation commissioned by
Home Office permanent secretary, Mark Sedwill. It will also
assess the manner in which “police and prosecutors handled
any related information” that was imparted to them, May told
the House.

The Home Secretary vowed the inquiry will unearth institutional
failures to protect vulnerable children in a comprehensive and
transparent manner.

Shadow secretary, Yvette Cooper, told the House on Monday it is
absolutely imperative “strong action” is taken to
address the child sex abuse allegations that have infiltrated
Westminster. She cited “justice” for victims, and
concrete reforms as being paramount.

May’s address to the House of Commons follows Lord Tebbit’s
recent claims of a potential political cover-up orchestrated to
protect establishment figures in the 1980s. Tebbit, a cabinet
minister from the Thatcher era, suggests child abuse allegations
against UK politicians in the 1980s may well have been
intentionally quelled.

Commenting on The Andrew Marr Show, he said: “At that time I
think most people would have thought that the establishment…was
to be protected and if a few things had gone wrong here and there
that it was more important to protect the system than to delve
too far into it.”

Former Home Secretary, Lord Brittan, who was issued the dossier
of files relating to child sex allegations by MP Geoffrey
Dickens, has been accused of failing to deal with the matter
adequately. But according to the Press Association, Brittan has
vehemently denied such claims, stating they are “completely
without foundation”.

Currently touring India with William Hague, Chancellor George
Osborne insists it’s essential the truth behind allegations of UK
politicians’ involvement in paedophilia is uncovered.

As was reported by the Guardian, Osborne stated on Monday:
"We need to get to the truth … we need to get to the bottom
of what happened in many of our institutions, including
potentially at Westminster."